AN: Here is the next one. I'll be traveling for the holidays for the next couple of weeks so update could be sporadic given internet connection, etc. I do have up to Chapter 14 written so there are some chapters backlogged so don't worry if the schedule slows down some.
Chapter 12: Revelations
Harry frowned. His father was alive.
He still couldn't believe the conversation he just had with his aunt.
It had started out normally enough. They were talking about his latest reading assignment from his potions book. Pretty interesting stuff, how ingredients interacted with each other. It reminded him a lot of cooking. One of the few chores at the Dursleys that he didn't hate.
He'd admit it, he sometimes read some of Aunt Petunia's cookbooks for fun. Of course, he couldn't make so of the more interesting dishes because she liked to stick to stuffy English standards, but some of the Spanish, Italian, and even French dishes in the book intrigued him. His potions book sort of reminded him of that, but the recipes weren't for making food.
"Your Father liked Potions," She said after they had just gotten finished talking about bezoar stones—fascinating, they could save you from most poisons.
That…that seemed familiar.
Write it down.
Weird.
He didn't focus on the weird feeling of dejavu much because she had mentioned his Father. She never talked about his parents. Neither did Aunt Andi.
It seemed like a taboo subject. Harry never really pressed talking about it because until recently he really didn't have the energy. And what good what it do anyway…they were gone.
Only it turns out they weren't.
Or at least his Father wasn't according to Aunt Narcissa.
"He had to go away," she said as she broke the news that he was alive and that she'd be seeing him soon.
Apparently, he had been ill and was in a healing facility in Switzerland of all places.
He didn't understand how no one had told him before despite what Aunt Narcissa had explained to him that there never really had been time and she didn't think he'd be able to meet his father until recently.
"What about my mum?" He asked.
"That's a little bit more complicated.".
"What do you mean complicated?" He asked. "Is she alive or not?"
"She's alive but she can't take care of you." Aunt Narcissa said. "That's all I'm going to say for the matter now."
"But my father…"
"He's alive but is dealing with some health issues." Narcissa said before she said, "I haven't mentioned you to him yet, Harry. He's been dealing with a lot. His memory is sort of like yours."
Harry frowned, "So, he doesn't remember me like I don't remember my first few months in the magic world?"
His aunt nodded, "He's getting better and I thought I'd approach you to see if you wanted to get to know him."
The answer was obviously yes and she suggested that he write a letter to him.
"I can't just meet him?"
"It might be easier to take it slow," Narcissa said. "I don't want this to overwhelm either of you."
He nodded, "But he is doing better, right?"
His aunt nodded before she turned the topic back to his readings and having him recite what poisons weren't curable by a bezoar—there weren't many. She then left him and asked him to write a short essay about the potion ingredients he read about as well as the letter— that is if he chose to do so.
He had thought for a long time what he wanted to write to his father. Finally, he settled on something:
Dad,
I'm not sure if that's what I'd call you or not since I never met you. Aunt Narcissa says you don't even remember me, but she said you wanted me. I'm not used to being wanted or magic or any of that.
I got hurt last fall. I don't have my memories really after I found out I was a wizard. Just bits and pieces. Like, how Hagrid taking me to Diagon Ally. Aunt Narcissa says that's sort of how you feel. I know how weird it can be. I don't even remember the troll at school—that's what apparently attacked me at school and how I found out I was a Black.
I've been in the hospital and Aunt Narcissa's clinic mostly healing since. I just moved into my room at Aunt Narcissa's and Uncle Lucius's not that long ago. It's a nice room. They let me choose what color to make it—I chose blue and silver. I can't go back to school this year because of my core or something. I am still having to read school stuff even though I can't practice magic yet.
I never really was allowed to read stuff before when I was with my…well, I guess they weren't my relatives. I'm actually like it more than I thought I would, reading that is. Then again magic is more interesting. Potions reminds me a little bit of some of the old cookbooks I used to read of Aunt Petunia's.
I don't know if you want to talk about it, but can you tell me anything about my mother? Aunt Narcissa really doesn't say much and I know that my mother is gone. But I would like to know a little bit about her.
I hope I can visit you soon.
Harry
Hopefully, he'd get a response.
Cissy came back.
He was sort of surprised about that, but then again, he wasn't exactly sure he knew about a lot of things.
"You look better," She commented eying him.
He probably did. It was hard to look as bad as he did when he came here. Plus, the ministry was playing a pretty penny to get him back to full health. So, he'd take all the health and beauty regeneration services this place had to offer in addition to enjoying the slopes.
"I'm surprised you're here."
"I told you I'd be back."
"Did you…"
He couldn't ask again. He still remembered Cissy's face when he had asked her to help him with Bella. She looked so resigned to Bella's fate.
A part of him was too, but he couldn't give up on her not when…the woman he loved had to be there somewhere. If her mind had been raped like his had, he could see how she had become what she was.
Twisted, contorted, into something she was not. He was still dealing with what happened. Almost as if having two identities in his head. And it likely would take a while according to the various mind healers he spoke to here to adjust to what his reality was.
It was getting easier, but it was still a process between that and being exposed to dementors for ten years.
And she wasn't an animagus like he was could she even recover…
"I talked to Lucius," Narcissa said. "He's going to attempt see if there's anything we can use to exploit to get her a review or something. It's going to be difficult, unless there's actual proof that she wasn't herself and they just don't let healers on the island as you well know."
Oh, he was very well aware. The lack of medical care on Azkaban was appalling. It was all a part of the hellish experience. And really, there should've been checks on prisoners to see if they were potioned or imperiused before their trials….however, he knew from what Narcissa had told him, Bella's trial had been pretty much open and shut.
Which he understood. In her current state she would've likely have bragged about keeping the Longbottoms under the Cruciatus curse until they were insane.
It was hard to wrap around his head that that monster was the woman he had been married to for over seven years.
"We will get her help," Narcissa said looking at his expression. "It will just take a while. I actually came here to talk to you about something else."
He raised an eyebrow.
She looked at him and said, "I am usually not one for being direct, but I don't know how to say this but for the past few months Lucius and I have been raising your son."
"Son?" He had no idea what she was talking about. "What…"
"Harry Potter is your son," Narcissa stated bluntly. "I don't know how the how or why, but he somehow ended up in Lily and James care."
He looked at her as if she was crazy, even though he had speculated that little Harry had been his as well.
No, it couldn't be.
It couldn't.
"He's dead," He said. "Little Harry died. I saw the papers. I broke down when I read the news, Cissy. I failed that boy. I know what was done for me made me act impulsively but still leaving that child with Hagrid to go to those people."
Narcissa shook her head. "He's not dead and he's not Harry Potter. He never was. I don't know how the mudblood did it, but he's yours and Bella's."
Sirius had a look on his face. "It…that's impossible. I…my children died, Cissy. All of them including the baby she was carrying when I was mind raped."
Cissy shook her head, "She took him. I still haven't figured out what she did, but she took him and made him her own."
She then took out a photo she had discreetly taken of Harry earlier that day when he was reading his potions books.
She watched her cousin's face become pale as he looked at the photo. "I….how?"
"Andromeda was called to Hogwarts to save his night the night of the troll incident," Narcissa explained. "She ran some diagnosis and found out he had Black blood. Further tests revealed he's yours and Bella's."
"He has her eyes," Sirius said in a quiet voice staring at the picture intently.
"I'm sorry, I wished I had better news."
"She….she was human."
For a night. For the duration of the full moon.
Emma Granger still couldn't wrap her mind with what had happened. She had been so happy to see her little girl again, even though it was clear Hermione was a wreck.
She had been so despondent when she had came too, shaking barely acting like herself. She had barely even been able to look at Emma, but she was there. She had been there.
It was amazing how different her daughter had looked since the last time she saw her. Hermione had been so happy and eager to go to school, a spark in her eyes. But that spark was gone. Her little girl's messy hair was gone as well. Her clothes were as well when she emerged. She was naked. She knew Hermione would be so embarrassed if she knew Emma saw her this way.
Part of a cruel prank, Emma frowned. No, she wouldn't even call that a prank. They had assaulted her. Beaten her down to the point Hermione didn't even want to speak or look at her, she still acted like the scared animal she had been before the moon rose. They had taken her humanity from her.
She hated them. She still couldn't get over the fact that one of the little shit's mothers completely acted like it was her child being abused at his arraignment the other day because he was in jail for trying to kill her daughter.
"You cannot do this to by son, your honor." The redhead woman practically screamed in the courtroom
"Mrs. Weasley, please restrain yourself." The judge said while the prosecutor, Amelia Bones, gave the woman a nasty look from under her monocle.
"It's because of that rat my son is dead!" The woman continued to rant. "If Percy did anything it was only to defend his family honor."
She couldn't be fucking serious. She was accusing her daughter of her stupid son's death.
Even if Hermione did think she could fight a troll—which Emma knew her daughter would've not thought such folly—she hadn't caused the boy to follow her into the lavatory.
"Your honor," Amelia said. "Mrs. Weasley is not a party to this matter."
"I am the boy's mother!"
If this was fucking normal people the woman would've been held in contempt, Emma was wanted to point out, but instead she kept her trap shut and shot Amelia a look.
"And Ms. Granger's mother is here as well and not talking."
"Mrs. Weasley, like Madam Bones has stated you are not a party to this case. If you cannot quiet yourself you will be removed."
"Where is she?" The woman said, "I want a word with her after her daughter did to my…"
"Guard," The judge called.
Emma did not meet with Molly Weasley that day. And had no plans to meet the harpy because if she did she'd probably be ending up going to wizard prison.
The fucking audacity.
It was one of many reasons she was going forward with her lawsuit against the school that and well…well, seeing Hermione the way she was.
All Emma could do was comfort her child. It seemed like forever, but she had finally soothed her enough where she heard Hermione murmur Mummy and then….and then the sun came up and her daughter was gone.
And she was a rat again.
And she was talking to the healers again.
"It's what I was afraid of," Narcissa Black told her, "The trauma caused a mutation to the latent lycanthropy gene your daughter has."
It was still weird that Remus was a werewolf but it explained a lot. Like how skittish he was, about how he never thought he was good enough for her despite the fact that she was a squib.
She sighed heavily, it never was good for her to dwell on Remus and what could've been. Him leaving her had hurt more than anything else in her life. A part of her had died then. She did eventually move on and married Dan, but it wasn't the same.
It really wasn't fair to Dan either.
She knew the big reason they stayed together was because of Hermione. He adored their daughter, but she could never be the sort of wife he deserved.
Knowing Remus was a werewolf also explained why Petey had been so smug around him. Some of the things he said to him know made he see red knowing that he had been insulting the man.
No wonder it didn't work she thought as she heard Healer Black explain the symptoms of lycanthropy—besides turning into a werewolf once a month.
And apparently the gene was genetic.
"Because Hermione wasn't infected, she was just a carrier of the gene until the transfiguration took place." Healer Black had said.
"What does this has to do with the current situation?"
She was then told that somehow her daughter's body had viewed her rat form as her primary form and her human for was essentially her werewolf form now.
Hermione had tricked herself into thinking she was not human. It was fairly gut wrenching to say the least, but it made sense with how feral she had been those few hours she had been in her normal form.
She at least recognized her that gave Emma some hope at least and gave Healers Black and Tonks hope as well.
However, the options weren't great. They had discussed bringing in a mind healer, which to Emma sounded more or less like a magical psychiatrist but given that her daughter had mostly the mind of a rat right now they weren't exactly how well that would work.
"I am also wondering if a modified version of wolfsbane might help," Narcissa said.
Wolfsbane was apparently a new potion that helped the werewolf keep their human mind during transformations. Healer Black had mentioned trying the potion or modifying it to help improve Hermione's state of mind. Her human state of mind.
"If we can get it to work," Narcissa said. "It could help her maybe retain her mind more where we could at least begin having her see a mind healer."
So, they were trying the potion. Emma only hoped it worked.
Chapter 13 Preview: We get a Hogwarts update, an update from Azkaban, and a POV of a guilty party.
